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I think the huge thing that most people miss is that Elon isn’t trying to fix the earth’s problems. Elon is using the earth and other people’s money to bootstra

I think the huge thing that most people miss is that Elon isn’t trying to fix the earth’s problems. Elon is using the earth and other people’s money to bootstrap all of the things he needs to live on Mars. Every single one of his projects is in some facet working on a tech that is needed on Mars. SpaceX gets you there. Tesla gets you around there and batteries store power. Solar City because batteries. Boring Company to dig tunnels and create radiation safe locations for humans on mars. Hyperloop cross country transport that doesn’t work well in our atmosphere but makes much more sense on Mars. I think he is all consumed by his vision of humans surviving on mars and thriving. And when you look at things from this view suddenly his crazy becomes less crazy.

piinbinary 9y ago
Given that framing, I wonder if he will start on food production soon
- rangibaby 9y ago
  Indoor food production(greenhouses, hydroponics, 3d farms) is already solved on Earth. I think the infrastructure to support it is the hard part.
  - hndamien 9y ago
    His brother does that. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/dining/kimbal-musk-food.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/dining/kimbal-musk-food.h...
- Robotbeat 9y ago
  His brother, Kimbal, is involved with square Roots, doing modular LED hydroponics systems for growing local fresh veggies anywhere.
  - leesalminen 9y ago
    His restaurants in Boulder Colorado are great. https://www.thekitchenbistros.com/ https://www.thekitchenbistros.com/
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
twtw 9y ago
"most people miss" that because that isn't what he says he is trying to do. Musk has said on several occasions that he is trying to fix some of the earth's problems. By all means, speculate on Elon Musk's hidden psyche, but don't expect everyone to agree when the man himself says something different.
- Trisell 9y ago
  I could agree with some of it. But he’s also said many times that he feels the only way to keep humans from going extinct is to make humanity a multi-planetary species, so while he maybe trying to fix some things his pretty clearly stated goal is to get humans off this rock permanently. http://earthsky.org/space/elon-musk-mars-manifesto-humans-multi-planetary http://earthsky.org/space/elon-musk-mars-manifesto-humans-mu...
  - itslennysfault 8y ago
    > multi-planetary species ...That means fix Earth too. We / he certainly doesn't want to trade Earth for Mars. Mars is just a good place to store a backup of humanity.
- Kluny 9y ago
  I read the Wait But Why series about Musk where the author had a lot of one-on-one time with Musk, and he basically said that's what's going on. It's just too complicated for twitter, that's why he doesn't talk about it there.
  - schiffern 8y ago
    Musk isn't limited to Twitter. ;) There are many good long-form videos (interviews, lectures, Q&As) on youtube. An oldie but a goodie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uegOUmgKB4E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uegOUmgKB4E If you think Musk doesn't care about Earth problems, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKCuDxpccYM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKCuDxpccYM Wait But Why is certainly popular, but it's not good at delimiting where Elon Musk's words end and Tim Urban's speculation begins. I also found oversimplifications and even downright inaccuracies. I'd recommend treating it as an introduction to Elon Musk's thinking, not as some final revelation.
TrainedMonkey 9y ago
OK, now explain how OpenAI and Neuralink fits in.
- steve_musk 9y ago
  I'm not saying I agree/disagree with the parent, but I think if you view Musk's motivations though that lens OpenAI and Neuralink still make sense. He seems to think AI is coming very soon and could destroy humanity if it isn't handled correctly. It would be hard to colonize Mars with humans if they are all extinct. Neuralink is part of his solution to AI.
haZard_OS 9y ago
The reasons the Hyperloop doesn't work well would require a separate forum to list. It seems a bit biased to simply say "because of Earth's atmosphere".
- colordrops 9y ago
  What other problems are there with the hyperloop other than creating a really large volume of vacuum and getting in and out of it?
d1ffuz0r 9y ago
loving his ideas, it's crazy now but in the future it might be very useful
eddieh 9y ago
I don’t know. It actually seems wasteful to transport batteries to Mars. I’d want to figure out if I could build a fuelcell that would work on Mars and be replenished with chemicals/elements plentiful on Mars. Only if that was impossible would I consider batteries.
- asfdsfggtfd 8y ago
  > fuelcell Sort of like a battery?
- TimMeade 8y ago
  Why transport them? Build them there.
superplussed 8y ago
Imagine if life had evolved on Mars, and we were sitting on that planet looking at that beautiful blue orb off in the distance. How much quicker would we have become multi-planetary then? I just can't imagine that there will be masses trying to leave this planet in search of that dry red hellhole. This is a cool endeavor, it's an impressive undertaking, I'm glad we are doing it. But fuck, the Earth is awesome.
TimMeade 8y ago
i have followed Elon almost since the zip days and this is the first time i've seen someone put it together like this. Makes Total Sense. Add to the list the StarLink project. Allows them to have worldwide communication on mars. This is certainly connecting the dots.

piinbinary 9y ago

Given that framing, I wonder if he will start on food production soon

rangibaby 9y ago
Indoor food production(greenhouses, hydroponics, 3d farms) is already solved on Earth. I think the infrastructure to support it is the hard part.
- hndamien 9y ago
  His brother does that. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/dining/kimbal-musk-food.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/dining/kimbal-musk-food.h...
Robotbeat 9y ago
His brother, Kimbal, is involved with square Roots, doing modular LED hydroponics systems for growing local fresh veggies anywhere.
- leesalminen 9y ago
  His restaurants in Boulder Colorado are great. https://www.thekitchenbistros.com/ https://www.thekitchenbistros.com/

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

twtw 9y ago

"most people miss" that because that isn't what he says he is trying to do. Musk has said on several occasions that he is trying to fix some of the earth's problems. By all means, speculate on Elon Musk's hidden psyche, but don't expect everyone to agree when the man himself says something different.

Trisell 9y ago
I could agree with some of it. But he’s also said many times that he feels the only way to keep humans from going extinct is to make humanity a multi-planetary species, so while he maybe trying to fix some things his pretty clearly stated goal is to get humans off this rock permanently. http://earthsky.org/space/elon-musk-mars-manifesto-humans-multi-planetary http://earthsky.org/space/elon-musk-mars-manifesto-humans-mu...
- itslennysfault 8y ago
  > multi-planetary species ...That means fix Earth too. We / he certainly doesn't want to trade Earth for Mars. Mars is just a good place to store a backup of humanity.
Kluny 9y ago
I read the Wait But Why series about Musk where the author had a lot of one-on-one time with Musk, and he basically said that's what's going on. It's just too complicated for twitter, that's why he doesn't talk about it there.
- schiffern 8y ago
  Musk isn't limited to Twitter. ;) There are many good long-form videos (interviews, lectures, Q&As) on youtube. An oldie but a goodie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uegOUmgKB4E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uegOUmgKB4E If you think Musk doesn't care about Earth problems, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKCuDxpccYM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKCuDxpccYM Wait But Why is certainly popular, but it's not good at delimiting where Elon Musk's words end and Tim Urban's speculation begins. I also found oversimplifications and even downright inaccuracies. I'd recommend treating it as an introduction to Elon Musk's thinking, not as some final revelation.

TrainedMonkey 9y ago

OK, now explain how OpenAI and Neuralink fits in.

steve_musk 9y ago
I'm not saying I agree/disagree with the parent, but I think if you view Musk's motivations though that lens OpenAI and Neuralink still make sense. He seems to think AI is coming very soon and could destroy humanity if it isn't handled correctly. It would be hard to colonize Mars with humans if they are all extinct. Neuralink is part of his solution to AI.

haZard_OS 9y ago

The reasons the Hyperloop doesn't work well would require a separate forum to list. It seems a bit biased to simply say "because of Earth's atmosphere".

colordrops 9y ago
What other problems are there with the hyperloop other than creating a really large volume of vacuum and getting in and out of it?

d1ffuz0r 9y ago

loving his ideas, it's crazy now but in the future it might be very useful

eddieh 9y ago

I don’t know. It actually seems wasteful to transport batteries to Mars. I’d want to figure out if I could build a fuelcell that would work on Mars and be replenished with chemicals/elements plentiful on Mars. Only if that was impossible would I consider batteries.

asfdsfggtfd 8y ago
> fuelcell Sort of like a battery?
TimMeade 8y ago
Why transport them? Build them there.

superplussed 8y ago

Imagine if life had evolved on Mars, and we were sitting on that planet looking at that beautiful blue orb off in the distance. How much quicker would we have become multi-planetary then? I just can't imagine that there will be masses trying to leave this planet in search of that dry red hellhole. This is a cool endeavor, it's an impressive undertaking, I'm glad we are doing it. But fuck, the Earth is awesome.

TimMeade 8y ago

i have followed Elon almost since the zip days and this is the first time i've seen someone put it together like this. Makes Total Sense. Add to the list the StarLink project. Allows them to have worldwide communication on mars. This is certainly connecting the dots.